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Decriminalization Of Steroids Essay,
Research Paper

The
Decriminalization of Steroids

Everyone has a
view on steroids whether or not it is shaped by mass media, schools,
or peers. Not many people have a realistic idea of what steroids
really are and what they do. I spent a few hours in various diet and
fitness related chat rooms on the net while doing this paper and
found out that the common stereotype is that all steroids are harmful
and produce breasts. Some people believe supplements such as creatine
and weight gain powder are steroids, which is false. Another common
misconception is that only world class athletes use them. It seems
most people are too lazy to read medical texts on steroids and would
much rather let the media and government tell them about it. This
attitude of don t confuse me with the facts and medical jargon is
what s wrong with societies view on steroids. With all of the
misinformation floating around it s no wonder why steroids are
considered dangerous drugs. To quote John F. Kennedy We are not
afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign
ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that
is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open
market is a nation that is afraid of its people.” (cybernation.com)

The term
“anabolic steroids” commonly refers to steroids that are
synthetically produced. Some common anabolic steroids are Nandrolone
decanoate, Primobolan, and Sustanon (a blend of four types of
testosterone) just to name a few. Testosterone studies are nothing
new. In 1771, a Scotsman transplanted the testes from a rooster to a
hen and confirmed his hypothesis that the hen would display
characteristics more like the rooster. About 78 years later in
Germany, a German scientist furthered the research in by examining
the effects of castration upon the secondary sex characteristics of
roosters and proving the existence of a masculinizing substance
produced in the testes and released through the bloodstream. In 1935,
scientists working in Amsterdam succeeded in collecting ten
milligrams of a chemical from one hundred kilograms of bull testes
and identified this chemical as testosterone. (David K. 85-86) By the
early 1950’s, scientists were trying to isolate testosterone’s
muscle building properties without the masculinizing effects.
Synthetic anabolic steroids were then developed in this quest.

Testosterone has
both anabolic (tissue building) and androgenic (masculinizing)
qualities. The anabolic/good effects are primarily muscle growth. The
androgenic/bad effects are gyno and the development of secondary male
sex characteristics, such as growth of facial and body hair and the
deepening of the voice. Obviously, the anabolic effects are desirable
for sports performance and cosmetic appearance. In adults, especially
women, the androgenic effects are not desirable at all. There are
ways to block the anabolic effects though. Medicine such as Nolvadex,
Clomid, and Arimidex (anti-estrogen agents) can be used to negate the
androgenic effects.

Unfortunately,
these are illegal substances as well. In my opinion, steroids are not
the evil drugs everyone has come to expect. Steroids are much safer
than many substances legal and illegal. Yet most people will get
drunk at a party and not think twice about it. Odds are the majority
of people probably won t ever use steroids in their lifetime, but for
the government to make them illegal is absurd. I feel the government
has made a grave mistake by criminalizing steroids. Hopefully, in due
time they will become legal and help many people by doing so.

Critics of
steroids say Roid rage is a deadly side effect of anabolic steroids.
Enormous media attention has been focused upon the reported adverse
psychiatric effects (especially violent behavior) of steroid use.
Roid rage is a term for steroid-induced “spontaneous, highly
aggressive, out-of-control behavior where the police either were
called or should have intervened” (Yesalis & Cowart, 60). A few
researchers have suggested that symptoms including increased
aggression are a common side effect of anabolic steroid use. For
example, a flawed 1988 study suggested that psychiatric disorders
occur with unusual frequency among athletes using anabolics (Pope &
Katz, 1988, 487-490). Experts say that “If this phenomenon is real,
it is relatively rare (probably less than 1 percent) among steroid
users. Even among those affected, the impact of previous mental
illness or abuse of other drugs is still unclear” (Yesalis &
Cowart, 60). “Some long-time steroid users have never suffered any
emotional instability, or anything more than transient physical
effects” and many steroid users describe non-violent feelings of
euphoria, well-being and enhanced self-confidence as common effects
(Wright & Cowart, 51)

Opponents of
steroids also say in men, the abuse of anabolic steroids can reduce
sperm production, cause acne, shrink the testicles, and cause
impotence and irreversible breast enlargement. Women can develop
masculine characteristics such as deepening of the voice and
excessive body hair. Also, in teens abuse of steroids can stunt bone
growth in adolescents and result in potentially permanent damage to
the heart, liver, and kidneys. Individuals who inject anabolic
steroids with nonsterile needles also risk developing HIV and other
blood-borne infections as well.

I concede that
using nonsterile needles does greatly increase the risk of HIV. Then
again it really does not matter what you are injecting into your body
as long as you are sharing needles your risk for HIV greatly
increases. I do agree that youth should NOT be using any kind of
steroid. Their bodies are just not developed yet and the adverse
effects could be permanent. According to the University of Michigan’s
Institute for Social Research (which is funded by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse) in 1999 2.7% of 8th graders and 10th grades
admit to using steroids at one time. The percentage slightly raises
to 2.9% when the same question was asked to 12th graders. Another
study done on twelve to seventeen year olds (by the Department of
Human Health and Services a year before) shows that marijuana use was
at 8.3%, tobacco use was 18.2%, and alcohol use was at 21%. Although
the numbers for youth steroid use are not high compared to the above
I would still like to see them be lower.

I strongly feel
that the self-administration of anabolic steroids by teenagers must
be strongly discouraged. Teenagers are much more likely to abuse
anabolic steroids (as is the case with alcohol.) They are less
focused and less educated, more susceptible to peer pressure, and
eager for fast results, teenagers are also more likely to use
anabolic steroids in dangerously high dosages and without any medical
supervision. Teens seem less willing to suffer these post-cycle size
and strength reductions, and are more likely to continuously use
high-dose steroids for prolonged periods, which is hazardous. By
taking it for a long duration, your body will then cease to produce
testosterone. Your body senses you are producing a great amount of
testosterone so it ceases to produce any more. Sort of like the if
you have the cow why buy milk analogy. Then when you quit using your
endrocrine system for a long period of time it usually never returns
to normal. Which is why most people who use anabolic steroids go
through what they call cycles (a 8 to 12 week period where they use
anabolic steroids then they quit for a long period of time until
their body s system is back to normal.)

Unlike the
majority of other illegal drugs steroids are drugs that are
beneficial when used responsibly and in moderation. Drugs like
heroin, marijuana, and cocaine have no health benefits attached to
them, and the only benefit (and I use that term very loosely) is the
sheer pleasure the user experiences when they get high . Marijuana is
glamorized in such comedies like Friday Dazed and Confused and who
can forget the classic Cheech and Chong movie Up in Smoke. I have yet
to see a comedy about anabolic steroids. In fact the only movie I
have seen called Steroids (with Ben Afleck) is filled with
exaggerations. For example, getting roid rage immediately after
taking a few pills. The very notion that one dose of steroids would
produce an instantaneous negative effect is absurd. Steroid
exaggerations are even found in comic books. I remember reading a
Marvel comic book called SuperPro where the lead character fights a
villain on steroids. The funny thing is that with every dose of
steroids the villain took he doubled in size. What purpose does this
propaganda serve? As far as I am concerned all it does is use
unnecessary scare tactics to get people to believe steroids are evil.

Marijuana can be
used for medicinal purposes in the state of California (Prop 215) and
Arizona (Prop 200) as of November 1996, yet marijuana serves no true
medicinal purpose. Some may argue that the temporary relief of pain
can be considered a medicinal purpose but more effective painkillers
are available through a doctor or over the counter for that matter.
In my years as a naval medic no doctor I talked to would even
consider prescribing marijuana to his or her patients. If any illegal
drug should be considered for Medicinal purposes it should be
anabolic steroids.

Even products
that are legal like alcohol and tobacco have far greater health risks
than anabolic steroids do and ever will. According to the National
Vital Statistics Report, (Vol. 47, no. 19.) Alcohol killed 19,576
people in 1997 (Not including motor vehicle related deaths), drunk
driving killed about 17,000 people the same year. Total deaths from
alcohol accounted for 98 billion dollars in total costs, which is
about a quarter of the annual estimated highway costs. The thing I
find interesting is that in the same report the total deaths related
to steroid abuse was not even in the top 50. To put it in
perspective, caffeine related deaths were higher than steroid related
deaths. Tobacco claims 400,000 lives each year, is the leading cause
of preventable death in the United States, results more than 50
billion dollars in direct health care costs, (www.fedstats.com) and
has no health benefits whatsoever but will continue to be legal as
well.

Another point is
that one of the greatest dangers in self-administered steroid use
involves the failure to be monitored by a doctor. The Anabolic
Steroid Control Act of 1990 has greatly increased this danger and has
created an even wider gap between the athletes and the medical
community. President Bush signed the Anabolic Steroids Control Act of
1990 into law as part of the Omnibus Crime Control Bill. The law
applies in every federal court across the country. It now places
steroids in the same legal class (Schedule III) as amphetamines,
methamphetamines, opium and morphine. Which means possession is a
federal offense punishable by up to one year in prison and/or a
minimum fine of $1,000. According to the Drug Enforcement
Administration, between February 1991 and February 1995, they
initiated 355 anabolic steroid investigations, which resulted in over
400 arrests and over 200 convictions. (Lanigan)

Under the
current views and laws of our society, it is a criminal act for a
physician to administer anabolic steroids to a healthy adult for
purposes of physical enhancement. However, it is perfectly acceptable
to perform the much more radical and dangerous procedure of
surgically implanting foreign prosthetics into virtually all parts of
the human anatomy for the same purpose, which subjects patients to
fatal risks associated with general anesthesia and post-surgical
infection. Many more people have died or been permanently injured
from botched liposuctions, breast implants and other cosmetic surgery
procedures in the past few years than in over forty years of anabolic
steroid use by athletes. Look at Arnold Schwarzenegger, he was a
fairly heavy steroid user for years and has had no adverse effects.
Not only is he a model of good fitness but also is a spokesperson of
The Presidents Council of Physical Fitness. Also, Lee Haney, 8 time
Mr. Olympia winner, is the current chair of the council. He used
anabolic steroids in the past as well and is also a model of good
fitness.

Because the
self-administration of anabolic steroids is a federal crime, very few
users are willing to confess their steroid use to physicians. Seeing
how federal enforcement efforts have now targeted physicians, very
few doctors want anything to do with athletes taking steroids these
days. Doctors caught distributing steroids to athletes have been
criminally prosecuted. Walter F. Jekot, M.D., for example, was
sentenced in 1993 to five years in federal prison for dispensing
steroids to athletes. Based upon the reading of the Control Act
physicians who prescribe steroids for other than approved illnesses,
open themselves up to a presumption of illegal activity. What can be
defined as approved illness then? Hormone replacements for the
elderly is not considered approved by current law. The restoration of
strength and muscle mass in the elderly would greatly benefit society
by making them less susceptible to diseases and decrease ever rising
health care costs. By not allowing trained physicians from
administering steroids in a controlled manner, the law has now forced
athletes and your average Joe to either buy steroids off the
black-market or seek out unethical and possibly incompetent
physicians to supply them steroids.

Finally by
legalizing steroids we would get most of these black market products
of the streets and out of the youths hands. Many of these black
market products are tainted with impurities. It has been estimated
that up to 90% of black market anabolic steroids are contaminated or
contain other foreign substances (Gallaway). Especially now with the
use of computer technology and being able to make replica labels and
boxes it is easier to make fakes steroids. Speaking from experience
it is very easy to make a fake product. When I worked in the lab at
the hospital I worked at I remember testing a supposed vial of
Winstrol (an anabolic steroid.) It consisted of milk powder and a
household cleaner. This is very dangerous to be injecting into your
body. Which makes me wonder how many of todays youth have actually
been taking steroids or just fakes. I also remember a good friend who
had a cyst on the top of his thigh about the size of a tennis ball, I
had to lance and drain it, and my friend could barely walk for weeks.
As it happens the product he was injecting into himself was a fake
and had given him the infection.

It can be
concluded that “[a]s used by most athletes, the side effects of
anabolic steroid use appear to be minimal” (Di Pasquale, 5).
Despite over forty years of use by athletes and non-athletes, many of
who are now well into there 40 s and 50 s, we have yet to hear
reports of an epidemic of steroid-related deaths. Even the medical
literature does not support the depiction of a serious health crisis
related to anabolic steroids. It would be false to say that anabolic
steroids, especially counterfeits, are safe for unsupervised
self-administration. Though on the other hand, it would be equally
false to state that anabolic steroids are deadly drugs that deserve
harsh criminal penalties for personal use by adults. One can say that
there is a serious question as to whether or not Congress may have
grossly overreacted in addressing the non-medical use of anabolic
steroids by people. I urge you to read more about steroids by picking
up good books such as The World Anabolic Review 1996, The Steroid
Bible, Anabolic Advantage and The Essentials of Steroid Use just to
name a few. So the next time you hear the word steroid visions of a
300pound WWF wrestler beating up his girlfriend does not pop in your
head but a clear image of what steroids really do.

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